In 2017-18, Kerala had made their maiden appearance in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)
The Kerala cricket team has for the first time qualified for the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy — 68 years after they first took part in the competition. The team thrashed Gujarat by 103 runs in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Kerala won the match on the third day after they folded Gujarat for just 81 runs in their second innings. The match between Kerala and Gujarat was played at the Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad, Kerala.
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Fast bowler Basil Thampi took a five-wicket haul as Kerala bundled Gujarat batsman in just 31.3 overs. Thampi ended the match with eight wickets for 88 runs (both innings combined).
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Star Kerala bowler Sandeep Warrier also finished with eight wickets. He took four wickets in the second innings.
Kerala enters #RanjiTrophy semi-finals for the first time by bowling Gujarat out twice in 80
overs in the Quarter-finals! But Sanju Samson’s broken finger is a huge blow: out for the rest of the tournament after successive scores of 91, 50 & 61, just when he was coming into form— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 17, 2019
Chasing a target of 195 runs, only two Gujarat batsmen — Rahul Shah, Dhruv Raval — were able to score runs in double digits, as the team slid to four-down inside the first half hour. Debutant Rahul Shah, who came to bat at number 3, remained unbeaten on 33. Rahul built a 39-run stand with Dhruv Raval for the fifth wicket. However, Raval’s dismissal for 17 kicked off another collapse, as they lost their last six wickets for 24 runs.
In 2017-18, Kerala had made their maiden appearance in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Brief scores: Kerala 185/9 (Chintan Gaja 4-57) & 171 (Sijomon Joseph 56; Roosh Kalaria 3-36) beat Gujarat 162 (Parthiv Patel 43; Sandeep Warrior 4-42) & 81 (Basil Thampi 5-27) by 113 runs
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